All about mouse

Feb 1, 2008
• mouse, article, and accessories

Since computer was introduced by GUI, Graphic User Interface, mouse has become a necessary tool for all of us. tons of models are available right now with very large price range, $2-$150 or even $200 with keyboard bundled. What I’m going to talk about is how different they are between cheap and good one and surely good one doesn’t have to be the most expensive one, and not that cheap.

What should we consider before buying mouse?

Of course, price tag is the most important. Then size, shape, look, sensitivity, feature, and performance. It’s the same method we buy anything else. Okay, I was also like everyone. I was looking for cheap stuffs and never thought of buying an expensive one since I did not believe that there was a large gap between the basic thing like mouse. Unfortunately, I was so wrong.

First irregular fancy mouse I bought is Creative Fatal1ty 1010, many of you may argue whether it’s good, but it has something more than regular mouse indeed. However, I got it when it’s $30 plus $30 mail-in rebate ;-P Now you know how I started buying nice mouse. However, the one that’s really impressed me is Logitech G5. Oh, man. That is really awesome and makes me want to write this.

Now, the factors I would have to buy another mouse are shape, feature, and the last but not least price. I’ll do my best to describe one-by-one attribute.

Size & Shape: there are many choices to choose but I found they can be classified in several categories.

Small mouse - the fingertip grip style, mainly for laptop user. I found that most of them aren’t good if you are using for a long period of time. There are some which are very good though. If you want a good one, you really need to have a strange looking–very fat–one because the curve of mouse will suit your palm well. You will not feel pain after using for a long period. The idea behind is like the curve is long enough to hold your full palm (from palm to finger tip.) That’s why you will be most comfortable. Otherwise, although you feel cool to have it, suffering will catch you after a while.

Full-sized mouse - like mainstream mouse, suit for everyone since it has a long rest area for palm. However, things that could distinct between good or bad would be what material it is, how good it is built, and how smooth & precise it responds. It has been improved so much for the time being. You would know what I’m talking about if you were using ball mouse. Now you should know that laser mice are very by the model as well. Some might be able to use on only particular surfaces, some may be able to use on almost any surface. That’s what you should know before buying one.

Gaming mouse - this is mostly the same as full-sized mouse, but better and sensitivity is the most concerned thing. Thus, mouse in this category mostly come with adjustable sensitivity on-the-fly button. Fast and precise mouse can help you win the game indeed.
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Touchpad (aka mousepad, trackpad) - this is mostly coming with notebook, you may find some model of keyboard have this as well though. Touchpad can have cool gestures to make more wow factor like what Apple did to their TrackPad, but I find this category is out-of-my-favor since I could use it comfortably no matter how hard I try it to be. At least, you may adjust to the highest sensitivity to get the optimal performance. That’s what I feel though. Yours could be vary.

Trackball - only advantage I can see of this category is saving space. If you know more, I would love to hear :-D </ul></ul> * TrackPoint - originally ThinkPad mouse, saving space and very comfortable if you can type on keyboard. I posted my opinion here. Marvelous is just the right word.

Tablet Pen - I don’t know whether this belongs to the right category but it’s pointing device as well. So it should be related in some ways.

Features: there are so many thing you couldn’t even think of.

Wireless Mouse: Bluetooth, radio signal, or whatever it is. One thing I could recommend is searching for a review about battery life. That’s vital factor as far as I’m concerned. The advantage of Bluetooth is if you have Bluetooth build-in, you don’t have to waste your USB port at all, but comparing to wireless mouse (radio freq.,) it’s a bit slower and does have a lag right before working condition.

Many customized buttons: This will be useful if you have a good bundled software.

Bundled software: You might have no idea why we need this, but you’ll like it when you meet a good one. It doesn’t like bloatware, features it provides really make a different.

Weighting tool: a heavy mouse for precise moving, and light mouse for faster movement. You can choose!

Adjustable sensitivity or DPI: I have no idea if this is really good feature. I use only to set as DPI I want and that’s it.

Okay, there are too many choices, but what I could recommend is choosing whether you want regular-sized mouse or small one. Then from my experience I will not regret choosing these models! Firstly, brand, I bet most of people will not surprise why I choose factor first since brand can tell so many things about products. Most of the time, you could even decide if this is good item or not by its logo. I know this is not applied to every gadgets, but when we talk about “mouse”, it is. And you may be able to guess which brand I’m going to talk about. Yep, it is _"Logitech."_ No matter how hard you are going to argue me. Logitech is still the best mouse manufacturer; in the other words, if you choose mouse from Logitech, you are less likely to get disappointed. I don’t know whether I could say this because the second that flashes on my mind right now is not clear really. If I have to say, I would say _"Microsoft"_ could take that place. I found that some models are great but most of them are decent. Nevertheless, I couldn’t find another brand to beat this up. _Razer?_ yep, I agree it’s good, but it’s mainly targeting gaming mouse too much. Kensington? they are expensive and I had expected them to be at least above par, but unfortunately my palm just doesn’t say that. It’s probably because their shape is just not right for my palm. Targus? that’s far from the league we’re talking about. Creative? Apple? or else? That’s the minority which is hard to make an real impact.

Next, there is nothing but model to show:-

Wireless small mouse

_Logitech VX Revolution_ is greatest small-sized mouse I have ever use. Firmly touch, long battery life, plenty of customized button, very good SetPoint controlling software, and absolute-zero-fiction wheel. Although its USB receiver is still big, it can be pop-in the mouse easily. The only drawback is only for right-handed folks. $60-$79.99

_Logitech VX Nano_ is almost the same technology, but the shape is different which has an advantage as two-handed support. The selling point like such a tiny USB receiver is so small that you could always leave in USB port. The sacrificed feature is small number of extra buttons. $50-$69.99

This is _Razer Pro Click Mobile Mouse_ which support Bluetooth rather than radio frequency. I have no idea how good this is since I haven't seen and tried in person, but Razer brand could guarantee the level of quality. $59.99

Full-sized mouse

There are so many great features to talk about _Logitech G5_, such as Adjustable DPI (up to 1800DPI) and weight, lengthy and durable wire, size and shape which are just right for everyone. Whoever have this would be pleased. This is really good mouse. It could be use as left-handed mouse but you may feel awkward click the side button. $45-59.99

_Razer Copperhead Tempest _(up to 2000DPI) is another popular mouse for gaming folk. It's different than G5 in term of feeling and it's two-handed support by align every buttons symmetrically. So, I find it's hard to press right-sided button. I don't really know if that's the cons though. $50-$69.99

These are not all great mice around since people do have different taste and favorite. But all above are model I like and it’s likely for you to like them too. To choose your mouse, first thing I would recommend is finding one that’s easy for your palm. Other Features are plus. From this standpoint you will feel positive about your mouse and be enjoy using computer more. I will try to review in depth of any interesting mouse as much as I can; stay tuned.

ps. As you could see, the price tag is really high for almost every models. However, if you are patient enough waiting for promotion/coupon/rebate, you will get VX Revolution for $19.99, G5 for $25, or Razer for $35 like I do. Just wait for the right time :-P